The secretary of Rural Development in the state said during the opening of the XV World Chili Convention that Mexico was the second largest producer of peppers worldwide, with 170 thousand hectares per year, and that its biggest production was of Bell, Jalapeno, and poblano peppers.
The XV World Chili Convention was held from the 18th to the 20th in the Laguna Expo Center, and brought together State authorities, and officials of the Sagarpa, the National Council of Chili producers (Conaproch), researchers from the Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro, Laguna Unit (UAAAN), and producers of various Mexican states, among other people.
The secretary of Rural Development in the state, Jose Luis Flores Mendez, opened the event by welcoming the attendees and stating that chili was a fundamental ingredient in Mexico's gastronomic culture.
He said the state of Chihuahua was the biggest producer of chili in Mexico, followed by Zacatecas and Sinaloa; and that Coahuila stood out thanks to its Pequin pepper production. 93 percent of the state's area is used for livestock and, together with Chihuahua, we rank first in bovine genetic quality, he said.
Mexico's pepper per capita consumption stands at 19 kilograms per year. This vegetable accounts for more than 23 percent of the country's production, and Chihuahua exports 150 trailers of chili every day. Mexico exports this product to 16 nations.
Alfio Vega de la Peña, a delegate of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (Sagarpa) in the Region of Laguna, said, "as we all know, peppers are one of the most successful crops."
Producers plant nearly 170 thousand hectares of peppers in Mexico each year, and the country is the second biggest producer of peppers in the world after China, he said.
He also said that there were pepper varieties for all tastes, such as the green, habanero, and serrano peppers, but that the most produced peppers were the jalapeno, bell, and poblano varieties. There are 11,700 producers of peppers, in almost all states, and the activity generates more than 30 million labor wages a year.
Source: Notimex